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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani visits employees at Citi Field prior to the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets on April 9, 2026 in Queens.
(Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images)
Watch: Zohran Mamdani Disses Trump-Israel War on Iran With Legendary Tupac Lyric
"Tupac said it decades ago, it continues to be true."
Apr 10, 2026
He may prefer Biggie over Tupac, but New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave a nod to the latter's immortal observation on misplaced national priorities during an interview in which he condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran.
"I've made clear my very deep opposition to this war in Iran," Mamdani told Richard Gaisford in a "Talk to Al Jazeera" segment aired Thursday on the Qatari news network. "It is an opposition not just of a procedural nature or a political nature, but frankly of a moral nature."
"We are speaking about a war that has killed thousands of civilians, a war that is deeply unpopular across this city and across this country," Mamdani said. "Not just because of what we are seeing it result in, but also because it is utilizing tens of billions of dollars to kill people, money that could otherwise be spent on making life easier for people across this city and this country."
"The very things that I often speak about that are necessary for working class New Yorkers that we are told are impossible or unrealistic, they would cost a fraction of this tens of billions that we're seeing," the mayor asserted.
Gaisford asked Mamdani if he is frustrated that "$900 million a day [is] being spent on the war, when you have projects that cost much less that can make a difference."
"I think it should frustrate all of us, you know what I mean?" the democratic socialist mayor replied. "Tupac said it decades ago, it continues to be true, about the fact that we always seem to have money for war but not to feed the poor. And that is not the way politics should be; that is not what Americans want politics to be."
Mamdani was referring to Tupac Shakur's 1993 track "Keep Ya Head Up," which contains the lyrics, "You know, it's funny when it rains it pours/They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor."
Shakur's 1998 song "Changes" also feels relevant today, as the slain rapper asks, "Can't a brother get a little peace?/It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East/Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me."
Watch Mamdani's interview with Gaisford here:
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He may prefer Biggie over Tupac, but New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave a nod to the latter's immortal observation on misplaced national priorities during an interview in which he condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran.
"I've made clear my very deep opposition to this war in Iran," Mamdani told Richard Gaisford in a "Talk to Al Jazeera" segment aired Thursday on the Qatari news network. "It is an opposition not just of a procedural nature or a political nature, but frankly of a moral nature."
"We are speaking about a war that has killed thousands of civilians, a war that is deeply unpopular across this city and across this country," Mamdani said. "Not just because of what we are seeing it result in, but also because it is utilizing tens of billions of dollars to kill people, money that could otherwise be spent on making life easier for people across this city and this country."
"The very things that I often speak about that are necessary for working class New Yorkers that we are told are impossible or unrealistic, they would cost a fraction of this tens of billions that we're seeing," the mayor asserted.
Gaisford asked Mamdani if he is frustrated that "$900 million a day [is] being spent on the war, when you have projects that cost much less that can make a difference."
"I think it should frustrate all of us, you know what I mean?" the democratic socialist mayor replied. "Tupac said it decades ago, it continues to be true, about the fact that we always seem to have money for war but not to feed the poor. And that is not the way politics should be; that is not what Americans want politics to be."
Mamdani was referring to Tupac Shakur's 1993 track "Keep Ya Head Up," which contains the lyrics, "You know, it's funny when it rains it pours/They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor."
Shakur's 1998 song "Changes" also feels relevant today, as the slain rapper asks, "Can't a brother get a little peace?/It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East/Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me."
Watch Mamdani's interview with Gaisford here:
He may prefer Biggie over Tupac, but New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave a nod to the latter's immortal observation on misplaced national priorities during an interview in which he condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran.
"I've made clear my very deep opposition to this war in Iran," Mamdani told Richard Gaisford in a "Talk to Al Jazeera" segment aired Thursday on the Qatari news network. "It is an opposition not just of a procedural nature or a political nature, but frankly of a moral nature."
"We are speaking about a war that has killed thousands of civilians, a war that is deeply unpopular across this city and across this country," Mamdani said. "Not just because of what we are seeing it result in, but also because it is utilizing tens of billions of dollars to kill people, money that could otherwise be spent on making life easier for people across this city and this country."
"The very things that I often speak about that are necessary for working class New Yorkers that we are told are impossible or unrealistic, they would cost a fraction of this tens of billions that we're seeing," the mayor asserted.
Gaisford asked Mamdani if he is frustrated that "$900 million a day [is] being spent on the war, when you have projects that cost much less that can make a difference."
"I think it should frustrate all of us, you know what I mean?" the democratic socialist mayor replied. "Tupac said it decades ago, it continues to be true, about the fact that we always seem to have money for war but not to feed the poor. And that is not the way politics should be; that is not what Americans want politics to be."
Mamdani was referring to Tupac Shakur's 1993 track "Keep Ya Head Up," which contains the lyrics, "You know, it's funny when it rains it pours/They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor."
Shakur's 1998 song "Changes" also feels relevant today, as the slain rapper asks, "Can't a brother get a little peace?/It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East/Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me."
Watch Mamdani's interview with Gaisford here:
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